On March 15, the front page of The Baltimore Sun screamed about a "racial divide" ("Baltimore leaders agree: City has a race problem". There is "1950's level racism in Baltimore," the city's African-American police commissioner had earlier observed. And...

A man dubbed Baltimore's "Most Wanted" for his alleged role in a string of 50 armed robberies at small businesses across the region has been caught, local and federal law enforcement agents announced Friday.
Stanley Macklin, 35, faces multiple armed-...

As a lifelong Baltimore resident, I was dismayed to hear Commissioner Anthony Batts' negative opinion of race relations in our city ("Baltimore leaders agree: City has a race problem," March 14).
Yes, Baltimore has many problems, but we also have seen...

Police Commissioner Anthony Batts and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake believe that Baltimore is still racist and that racism is the primary factor holding blacks back from income and educational parity with whites in the city ("Baltimore leaders agree:...

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, presiding over a city where 90 percent of homicide victims and 90 percent of suspects were African-Americans, called for "new ideas" Monday in the longstanding fight against black-on-black crime.
"Let us all work together to discuss what's working and hopefully have a conversation about new ideas and approaches," Rawlings-Blake said in her most expansive comments on the subject to date. "None of us have all the answers, but I believe working together we can make a real...

Twice in recent weeks, Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts has made a startling statement to national audiences: Baltimore is still dealing with 1950s- and 1960s-era racism.
The statement, which comes as the city is seeing population growth for the first time in decades, could have been viewed as a step backward, a self-inflicted wound. Instead, it has triggered a wide-ranging discussion of the issue around Baltimore — and met with relatively little disagreement.
"I agree with him...

Baltimore police Officer Steven Fraser popped into an East Baltimore carry-out and handed an employee a composite sketch of a serial robbery suspect. Outside, he saw a black plastic bag that held an abandoned beer can and tossed it into the trash.
An older woman with a cane approached a nail salon, and Fraser opened the door. The day happened to be national "Make a Friend Day," and the 25-year-old police officer was unwittingly doing his part as he walked the commercial strip along East Monument...

Does Baltimore have a race problem? The nation has a race problem. Why should we be any different? But cutting through the thicket and thorns of general racism to get to the specific issue raised by the city's police commissioner takes some paring and parsing.
"When I go to Baltimore, on the East Coast, I'm dealing with 1950s-level black-and-white racism," Anthony Batts told a presidential task force last month. "It's [taking] a step back. Everything's either black or everything's white, and we're...

Baltimore police Sgt. Keith Mcneill, who continues to recover after being shot last year, made a rare public appearance this month when he attended a promotion ceremony in East Baltimore.
Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts said Mcneill surprised many officers when he walked on stage and "pinned" Steve Ward as he was being promoted from captain to major. Ward is now the commanding officer of police's Eastern District, replacing Maj. Stanley Brandford who was transferred back to overseeing the...

A virus has slowed Baltimore police's computer system but police say it doesn't affect any dispatch capabilities or emergency functions.
The virus known as "W32.Qakbot" was discovered recently as information technology workers were trying to figure out what has been slowing the department's computers for months, police spokesman Capt. John Kowalczyk said.
According to Symantec, a company that creates antivirus products, the virus "downloads additional files, steals information, and opens a back door...